Free Republic

Utah’s staunchly conservative legislature came close to eliminating the death penalty and gave serious consideration to setting up a system to grow and distribute medical marijuana — making the 2016 session a surprising one that may foreshadow future traction for progressive issues. […] The lean toward progressive issues was led by a pair of outgoing GOP lawmakers who went all in on their bills. Sen. Mark Madsen led the medical marijuana push, while Sen. Steve Urquhart pushed the death penalty abolishment. Urquhart also backed a failed measure that would have added discrimination protections for gay and transgender people. A year...

Utah senators on Wednesday voted to abolish the death penalty, advancing what had been considered a longshot proposal in the conservative state. The measure marks a stunning turn in Utah, where a year ago lawmakers voted to reinstate the use of the firing squad as a backup execution method. Lawmakers argued last year that if the state has a shortage of lethal injection drugs, it must still find a way to kill death row inmates. Sen. Steve Urquhart, a Republican, is leading the push this year to repeal capital punishment, citing conservative themes of imperfect governments and capital punishment as...